I am working with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited which is involved in Oil

Refining and Marketing Business. BPCL is also making inroads in exploration i.e.
upward integration. Oil and Gas being one of the strategic sectors from
development as well as defense point of view and hence been largely controlled
by the Indian government. Prior to independence only Multinational like Burma
Shell, Caltex etc. were operating in India. Due to strategic importance M/s Indian
Oil Corporation (IOC) for Oil refining and Marketing and Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC) for Oil exploration were established by the Government.
Later on in 1976, based on the experience in Indo China war, MNCs closed their
operation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC) was formed by nationalization
of Burma Shell and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC) by nationalization of
Caltex Esso were established by the Government.
In 1990s Government of India started inviting private sector in Oil Refining and
Marketing and as a result Reliance Industries and Essar Oil limited established
large capacities of Oil refining and started creating marketing network. Major
products in Oil marketing are:

Motor spirit (Petrol), HSD (Diesel) & SKO

LPG

Aviation

Industrial Products

Lubricant
In 1992, Government of India decontrolled lubricant business which gave entry to
lot of international players to establish themselves in Indian market giving a
tough competition to state players like IOC, BPC and HPC. In 2002, Government
decontrolled pricing of LPG and SKO for commercial and industrial sector
excluding the domestic household consumption. This witnessed private players
entry in the segment but since the volumes were low, state companies
dominated this segment.
In 2010-11 Motor spirit prices were also decontrolled though due to high volatility
in the international market government is still keeping indirect control on this
product in the Oil sector.
In the upstream sector, in order to be self sufficient and for the purpose of
energy security, Government of India is promoting PSUs stake holding in Oil
assets abroad in which other than ONGC, BPC has entered in select ways.
Application of 7-S Framework
I have applied below the 7-S Framework, which is based around seven key
elements of any organization, with the view that in order for it to operate
successfully, all the elements in this model must align synergistically together.

The factors are split into two groups: hard or soft. The hard elements are those
that can physically be seen when in place, whereas the soft are more
intangible and cannot readily be seen.

Hard Elements

Soft Elements

Strategy

Skills

Structure

Staf

System

Style
Shared Values

STRATEGY
Bharat Petroleum recognized that all strategic initiatives must conform to the
overall vision of the Corporation and improve the economic value.
The main strategy which BPCL follows is diferentiation strategy; it may be
product diferentiation or service diferentiation.
Key strategic initiatives taken by Bharat petroleum are as under:
a. Product Security Initiatives: To improve product security, BPCL acquired
two standalone refineries Kochi refinery (9.5 MMTPA) in South and
Numaligarh Refinery (3 MMTPA) in Assam. Investment in 9 MMTPA refinery in
joint venture with Oman Refineries in Madhya Pradesh to cater to Northern
India, where BPCL was dependent on other PSUs for product support.
b. Backward Integration Initiatives: Bharat Petro Resources Ltd (BPRL) was
incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary company of BPCL with the
objective of implementing BPCLs plans in the upstream exploration and
production sector. The exploration and production activities of BPRL and its
subsidiary companies extend to 26 exploration blocks where they hold
participating interests (PI). Of this, 11 blocks are in India and 15 are abroad.
Besides India, BPRL has blocks in Australia, Brazil, East Timor, Indonesia,
Mozambique and the United Kingdom. BPRLs total acreage in all these blocks
is around 68,000 sq.km, of which approx 89% is ofshore acreage. These
blocks are in various stages of exploration with definite finds.
c. Brand Initiatives: In the highly competitive scenario, it has become
imperative to own dominant brands. BPCL introduced new generation
branded fuels Speed, Hi Speed Diesel and Speed 97, to introduce premium
fuel brands in the Country, keeping pace with the technological
advancements in the automobile industry leading to introduction of new
generation vehicles. BPCL also recognized the customer need for pure quality
and correct quantity of fuel for their vehicles and launched the flagship

initiative of Pure For Sure (PFS) ofering the guarantee of pure quality and
correct quantity of fuel to our customers. The petrol pumps displaying a
prominent Pure For Sure signage became landmark destinations.
d. Automotive Lubricants Initiatives: Bharat Petroleum launched the full range of
Automotive Engine Oils, Gear Oils, Transmission oils, Specialty Oils and
Greases under the umbrella brand MAK, ofering range of benefits to the
users of present day modern vehicles.

STRUCTURE
Earlier (prior to 1998) structure in BPCL was functionally organized. There
were mainly four functions Refineries, Marketing, Finance, and Personnel
each headed by a Functional Director. Other support departments like
corporate afairs, legal, audit, vigilance, coordination and company secretary
were directly under C&MD. Further down the line there were divisions. Each
division was responsible for business performance of all products/brands
within its geographical boundaries.
Bharat Petroleum realized that, in the long run, success can only come with a
total reorientation and change in approach with the customer as the focal
point. In a proactive move to adapt to the emerging competitive scenario and
support strategy function-based structure was carefully dismantled and
replaced with a process-based one. This made the company more responsive
to its customer needs.
BPCL therefore was restructured into a Corporate Centre, Strategic Business
Units (SBUs) and Shared Services and Entities. The organizational design
comprising of five customers facing SBUs, viz. Aviation, Industrial and
Commercial, LPG, Lubricants and Retail and one asset based SBU, viz.
Refinery, is based on the philosophy of greater customer focus based on the
specific needs of each customer segments.
Few salient feature of new Structure in BPCL are as under:

Highly empowered work force

Decentralized decision making

De-linking of authority from hierarchical levels

Orientation towards internal and external customers

SYSTEMS
Bharat Petroleum has always been on the forefront of harnessing technology
initiatives for maximizing efficiency and achieving greater customer satisfaction.
Bharat Petroleum became the first PSU to implement Enterprise wide Resource
Planning (ERP) solutions - SAP. The challenge of SAP implementation was to
ensure that all the integrated elements work seamlessly across the length and
breadth of the country, including the remote locations.
Bharat Petroleum reaped huge benefits of the integrated system in many areas

of its operations - like, tracking customer-receivables, monitoring creditmanagement, inventory management, besides easing the operations in a large
number of areas.
Management information systems are well established in the company. All
processes are well documented in the form SOPs. Decision rights are clearly
defined in DRA (Decision Right and authority) manual. Companys Apex council
which comprises of functional directors and SBU heads regularly monitors the
business performance. Company recently introduced a CCS (customer compliant
system) which provides a single platform to customer to give feedback for all
products of diferent BUs.

SKILLS
BPCL has a culture of pursuing a path of Learning Organization. This is one of the
most important core competencies of BPCL which diferentiates it with
competition. Operational efficiency is another core competency which BPCL
possesses. It is reflected in all our function whether it is production, marketing,
sales, HR, shared services etc.
As a Strategic Business Partner, HR supports skill-up gradation and multi-skilling
of staf by identifying target segment and requirements from each SBU,
evaluation of on the job performance - post deployment in the job requiring
those skills sets. BPCL designed Structured Standard programs which is
implemented across the organization on BPCL Core Values & Culture /
Identification and Development of Talent / Coaching Skills / Understanding of PMS
Process and its timeliness / Understanding of New Manager Assimilation Process
for Senior Managers having experience of handling a team. Impact of training is
assessed and evaluated through proper framework. HR designed integrated
Talent Management process with 360 degree assessment of all management
staf on competencies, engagement and aspiration. Based on these inputs,
individual development plans are designed. The purpose of the exercise is to
ensure that talent is retained, encouraged and groomed to take over leadership
position in near future.

STAFF
BPCL follows a mix of open and campus recruitment. For open recruitment
advertisements are published in leading national dailies which include filling an
application form, written test, Group discussion and interview. For campus
recruitment, company visits the IITs, NITs and other reputed technical institutes
of the country for recruiting final year engineering students. Job rotation and
inter-location transfers throughout the country facilitate planned development of
careers and broaden outlook. Career growth opportunities are based on the
individual's performance and contribution to the common goal of sustained
growth.
Few of HR initiatives taken by BPCL are listed below:

Engaging Employees: BPCL realizes that event based engagement is not

sufficient instead employees needs continuous engagements so that their
grievances are addressed, they are hand held, if needed, feel secured and
appreciated and get committed to their work and corporation.
Performance Planning & Appraisal System: PMS system in BPCL facilitates
achievement of the Vision and Business Plans of the Corporation and foster
development of every management staf, thereby gaining competitive advantage
in the industry. The objectives of PMS in BPCL is to create awareness of
Corporate and SBU/ Entity goals, translate such goals into tangible objectives
and measures at the individual level through discussions between Appraiser and
Appraisee, identify managerial attributes/ competencies for each role necessary
to achieve the goals, establish a formal process of continuous feedback on
performance and identify developmental plans to enhance performance.
Manpower Planning: Based on inputs from SBUs / Entities, HR either relocates
the already employed resource from other facility, based on the strength of the
employee and the job requirement or initiates the process of recruitment.
Career Planning: To bring HR closer to work place, BPCL has embedded HR with
each SBU / Entity, who hand hold these set-up in HR matters in consultation with
central HR set-up. Every year, embedded HR, along with corporate HR to discuss
the talent development, career planning of individual staf to decide on interfunctional movement and short to long term career path.

STYLE
BPCL top leadership follows a mix of democratic (participatory) and Bureaucratic

(top-down) style. Issues are discussed and participative management is followed

in arriving at decision.
However since we are a public sector company, sometimes few decision are
dictated to company by government. To implement such decisions b ureaucratic
style is adopted at all levels of organization.

SHARED VALUES
Shared values are the pinnacle of the model. Therefore in any organization, they
form the underpinning culture, strategy, efectiveness and performance, linking
to every other element in this framework. They link all that is of the organization:
how people behave, the structure, its systems and so on. Getting this balance
right means getting the culture right.
BPCL shared values are:

| TRUST is the bedrock of our existence| CUSTOMER CENTRICITY is

intrinsic to our achievements | DEVELOPMENT OF PEOPLE is the only
way to success | ETHICS govern all our actions | INNOVATION is our daily
inspiration| COLLABORATION is the essence of individual action|
INVOLVEMENT is the way we pursue our organizational goals